Latest news with #Trump-ordered
New York Post
3 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Researcher behind Trump-ordered gender dysphoria report outs himself, doubles down that medical transitions for minors isn't ethical
An anonymous researcher behind a bombshell Trump-ordered review of transgender treatments on minors has outed himself as a liberal MIT professor — as he doubled down on the report's findings that medical intervention on underage kids isn't 'empirically or ethically justified.' Alex Byrne, a philosophy professor at the elite Massachusetts school, revealed in a Washington Post op-ed Thursday that he was among the nine co-authors of the sweeping Department of Health and Human Services report published last month that found gender dysphoria among young patients should be treated with therapy instead of transition treatments. Byrne, who described himself as 'hardly a fan of the current administration' and noted he'd never voted Republican, insisted the HHS' Gender Dysphoria Report wasn't 'written by zealots busily grinding axes' — despite outraged critics on the left immediately ripping the review. Alex Byrne, a philosophy professor at MIT, was among the nine co-authors of the sweeping report published last month that found gender dysphoria should be treated with therapy instead of transition treatments for children. Instead, he argued that the report — which was sparked by one of Trump's early executive orders but written by a liberal majority — offered up a 'sober examination of what by any standards are drastic medical interventions for physically healthy minors.' 'After surveying all the evidence, and applying widely accepted principles of medical ethics, we found that medical transition for minors is not empirically or ethically justified,' Byrne wrote, noting that the findings were in alignment with scores of other reports commissioned by health authorities in other countries — including the UK. 'The review describes how the medicalized 'gender affirming care' approach to treating pediatric gender distress, endorsed by the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, rests on very weak evidence,' he continued. 'Puberty blockers followed by cross-sex hormones compromise fertility and may cause lifelong sexual dysfunction (among other adverse effects); surgeries such as mastectomies remove healthy tissue and carry known risks of complications. Medical procedures always have downsides, but in this case no reliable research indicates that these treatments are beneficial to minors' mental health.' Byrne, who described himself as 'hardly a fan of the current administration' and noted he'd never voted Republican, insisted the HHS' Gender Dysphoria Report wasn't 'written by zealots busily grinding axes'. AP Among the transgender interventions in children that were scrutinized in the HHS report included the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries. The report, which is still undergoing a peer-review, fueled immediate outrage among liberals and trans activists when it was published. Byrne acknowledged much of the fury stemmed from the authors remaining anonymous — a move he said was made amid fears of 'personal attacks or professional penalties' given the divisive nature of the gender dysphoria treatments debate. He was adamant though that the cohort could 'produce a rigorous, well-argued document' given the wide-ranging expertise of those involved — including experts in endocrinology, psychiatry, health policy and general medicine. 'The hostile response to the review by medical groups and practitioners underscores why it was necessary. Medicalized treatment for pediatric gender dysphoria needs to be dispassionately scrutinized like any other area of medicine, no matter which side of the aisle is cheering it on. But in the United States, it has not been,' he said. 'It deserves to be read by people of all political leanings. Whether its early critics bothered to do so is unclear.'
Politico
4 days ago
- Business
- Politico
House GOP issues new subpoenas, ramping up ActBlue investigation
House GOP committees have issued new subpoenas to ActBlue, intensifying their probe of the Democratic fundraising platform. The subpoenas are an attempt to force cooperation as ActBlue has pushed back on the congressional investigation, questioning its intentions and constitutionality after the White House launched a similar probe. Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.), Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who lead the committees investigating ActBlue, issued the subpoenas Wednesday to compel a current and a former employee to testify about the platform's fraud prevention policies. The employees being subpoenaed had previously pushed back against voluntarily appearing before the committee, citing the White House's investigation, and ActBlue sent the committee a defiant letter earlier this month criticizing the investigation as partisan. In subpoenaing the employees, the GOP lawmakers rejected ActBlue's argument that the congressional investigation is being conducted at the behest of the White House probe. ActBlue had slammed the congressional investigations in a letter this month as a 'partisan effort directed at harming political opponents rather than gathering facts to assist in lawmaking efforts.' The platform and its Democratic defenders have argued that any probe into foreign donations and online fundraising should also include WinRed, the largest Republican fundraising platform. Those Democratic complaints grew louder after President Donald Trump in April ordered the Justice Department to investigate foreign straw donations in online fundraising, citing in part the work done by the GOP-led congressional committees. That investigation is expected to carry into the fall — and ActBlue was the only company named in Trump's order. In the new subpoenas, however, the GOP lawmakers argue the committee is operating well within its rights, and that testimony from ActBlue could inform future campaign finance legislation. They say the House investigation is distinct from the Trump-ordered probe into the platform and that their committees have not provided any non-public information to the Justice Department. The lawmakers also rejected ActBlue's argument that the Constitution protects it from cooperation with the probe. 'Congress is free to choose how to conduct oversight, including which entities to examine and in what manner. A Congressional committee's decision to examine one entity and not another does not violate the Equal Protection Clause,' one of the subpoenas reads. In a statement, ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones assailed the subpoenas as 'political theater' that would 'give Shakespeare a run for his money.' 'The Republican-led committees have also not addressed ActBlue's legitimate concerns about the partisan and parallel inquiries by separate branches of the government being waged against President Trump's and MAGA Republicans' political opponents,' Wallace-Jones said. ActBlue previously provided documents to the GOP committees, some voluntarily and some under subpoena. The congressional committees asked for voluntary interviews with ActBlue employees in April, according to the latest subpoenas, but the employees balked, citing in part the Justice Department probe. Republicans have frequently leveraged their committee gavels this Congress to go after Democratic officials, including mayors and governors. The House Oversight Committee is also investigating former President Joe Biden's mental acuity while in the White House, amid a similar probe by the Trump administration. Comer has issued a subpoena to Biden's physician and asked a number of former top White House aides to sit down with his panel.
4 days ago
- Politics
Retired B-2 bomber pilot: 'We may never know' full impact of US strikes on Iran
Retired Gen. Robert Spalding joined ABC News Live to discuss a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that found Trump-ordered strikes only set back Iran's nuclear program by months.
Gulf Insider
4 days ago
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Trump Pushes Back On Pentagon Intel, Insists Iran Nuclear Sites 'Destroyed'
There are two apt sayings for this current situation facing the White House in the wake of the Trump-ordered bombings against Iran's nuclear facilities. First, what's worse in war-time decision-making than doing the wrong thing? Doing it incompletely . Second, it is always easy to begin a war, but very difficult to stop one . And so here President Trump and his top officials find themselves, defending the 'limited' strikes and proclaiming the destruction of Iran's nuclear program and enrichment capability in the face of a skeptical media. The escalation dialectic – which the mainstream media is so good at – begins… The heat is on an the NATO summit in The Hague, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters, 'Of course we're doing a leak investigation with the FBI right now because this information is for internal purposes, battle damage assessments.' Referencing yesterday's leaked DIA report which strongly suggests Iran's nuclear program is 'mostly intact' – he continued, 'And CNN and others are trying to spin it to make the president look bad when this was an overwhelming success.' And Trump himself said, 'They really don't know.' And in response to the contrary intelligence, 'I think Israel is gonna be telling us very soon because [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is going to have people Involved in that whole situation.' 'This was an unbelievable hit by genius pilots and genius people in the military, and they're not being given credit for it because we have scum that's in this room. And not all of you are… CNN is scum. MSDNC is scum. The New York Times is scum. They're bad people. They're sick,' Trump said. 'And what they've done is they're trying to make this unbelievable victory into something less.' And here's Secretary of State Marco Rubio, somewhat hedging: '(Iran's nuclear) program today has been set behind significantly from where it was a week ago. It is in far worse shape today than it was a week ago because of US actions and because some of the actions Israelis took,' Rubio told Politico. 'So, the bottom line is they are much further away from a nuclear weapon today than they were before the president took this bold action,' he said, adding that 'very significant, substantial damage' was done to a 'variety of different components.' Iran has meanwhile admitted that nuclear sites are 'badly damaged' – perhaps in hopes of giving Trump what he wants in terms of PR to ensure the bombing will stop and ceasefire will hold; however, the Iranians have also vowed to pursue their nuclear energy program without interruption and that it remains a matter of national sovereignty. To review of the leaked DIA assessment, one official had told CNN: 'So the (DIA) assessment is that the US set them back maybe a few months, tops.' The White House acknowledged the existence of the report marked top secret but said they disagreed with it. Trump, Rubio, and Hegseth are in Europe proclaiming the 'overwhelming success' of the strikes: Pete Hegseth: CNN and others are trying to spin this to make the President look bad when this was an overwhelming This is the New York Times. I call it the failing New York Times. It's going to hell. And CNN which very few people are watching.🤔 — Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) June 25, 2025 So this appears yet another case of the White House disagreeing with its own intelligence community (IC) – in an ongoing awkward situation which has Iraq war vibes. However, without doubt the IC is still working on an overall consensus, based likely on several different intel threads, and across agencies. One obvious danger from the perspective of Western decision-makers (and Israel): if Iran was not intent on getting a bomb before, they likely are now – given their very existence is under threat. * * * More geopolitical developments and headlines via Newsquawk: US Secretary of State Rubio says US President Trump will buck Europe's pleas to ratchet up sanctions on Russia, adding that the US still wants room to negotiate a peace deal, according to Politico. US President Trump says NATO will be very strong, when asked about article 5, says 'we are with them all of the way'. Thinks the Iran-Israel ceasefire is good. Last thing Iran want to do is enrich (uranium), they want to recover. Thinks US will have a relationship with Iran. Asked if the US would strike Iran again if the nuclear programme is rebuilt, says 'sure' Progress is being made on Gaza. 'Al-Akhbar reported this morning from its sources that Houthi attacks in Yemen against Israel are expected to intensify and escalate in the coming days in response to the Israeli escalation in Gaza', via Kan's Kais on X. Iranian Parliament approves bill to suspend cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog, according to Nournews 'There have been no [US] sanctions lifted on Iran,' said Fox Business' Lawrence, in reference to President Trump's post suggesting China could continue to buy oil from Iran. A senior White House official added: 'The President was simply calling attention to the fact that because of his decisive actions to obliterate Iran's nuclear facilities and broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz will not be impacted, which would have been devastating for China. The President continues to call on China and all countries to import our state-of-the-art oil rather than import Iranian oil in violation of US sanctions. 'Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi said the nuclear programme continues, according to Al Arabiya. White House Middle East envoy Witkoff said the US and Israel had achieved their goals in Iran, according to Fox News. He described talks with Iran as encouraging and stated it was time to sit with Iran and make a comprehensive deal. Iran's Revolutionary Guards denied there was any drone attack in the northwestern city of Tabriz following reports air defences were activated in the area, according to Iranian news sites. Israel's representative to the UN Security Council stated that Iran had been involved in producing a nuclear bomb, according to Sky News Arabia. Israel's representative to the United Nations said that diplomatic talks with Iran will take place soon, according to Al Arabiya. US is set to open its embassy in Jerusalem on June 25th, following the ceasefire between Israel and Iran and the lifting of all restrictions by Israel's Home Front Command, according to a statement. Iran executed three men for allegedly working for Israel's spy agency Mossad, according to the Mizan News Agency.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Trump-Massie feud goes to a new level: From the Politics Desk
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team's latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. In today's edition, Scott Bland dives into President Donald Trump's escalating attacks on Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican lawmaker who has proven to be a consistent thorn in his side. Plus, we have the latest from the Middle East as Trump announces a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here. — Adam Wollner Rep. Thomas Massie has been an intraparty irritant to Donald Trump for years, but never to the point that the president decided to actually try to squash the Kentucky Republican in a primary. Until now. Two of Trump's top political advisers are launching a super PAC dedicated to opposing Massie in his 2026 primary, after Massie's criticism of the Trump-ordered U.S. strikes in Iran this weekend. Trump and Massie have also been trading barbs on social media over the past 48 hours, with Trump posting on Truth Social, 'GET THIS 'BUM' OUT OF OFFICE, ASAP!!!,' and Massie saying on X that the president's actions are not 'American First.' But the formation of the new political group is a step further than Trump has ever gone despite past annoyance with Massie, often a lonely, libertarian-inspired 'no' vote even when most of the House GOP is supporting something — like last month's vote to advance Trump's tax and spending package. It's set to be one of next year's early tests of Trump's grip on the Republican Party, the power of the political war chest he continues to accumulate despite being term-limited, and the ability of remaining holdouts against his top-down version of the GOP to maintain any traction locally. Before this election cycle, Massie had courted Trump's ire on several other high-profile occasions, including an early Covid relief effort in 2020, when Trump called him a 'third rate Grandstander' on social media. Massie was one of a handful of House Republicans who endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president over Trump in the 2024 primary, too. Once again, Trump's anger over that stopped short of an actual endorsement for a primary opponent. Now, though, it seems that the president's annoyance is going to come down on Massie along with his money and maybe even that powerful endorsement, if Team Trump can find a credible challenger this time around. Massie is using Trump's opposition as a fundraising opportunity of his own, but it's not going to measure up to whatever Trump can air-drop into Kentucky against him. As Jonathan Allen points out, Trump has targeted Republican incumbents in primaries before. Most notably, in the 2022 election cycle he sought to unseat GOP lawmakers who voted to impeach him after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Ultimately, eight of the 10 House Republicans lost their primaries or declined to seek re-election. And last year, Trump backed John McGuire's successful primary challenge to Virginia's Bob Good, who was the chair of the House Freedom Caucus at the time. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social this evening that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire. 'CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!,' Trump wrote. The announcement came hours after Iran launched a missile strike against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which stations thousands of U.S. troops, in retaliation for the U.S. bombing its nuclear sites over the weekend. Trump had said that no Americans were harmed and that 'hardly any damage was done.' He added that Iran gave 'early notice' of the attack. Catch up on our latest reporting on the conflict in the Middle East: How Trump decided to strike Iran, by Gordon Lubold, Carol E. Lee and Courtney Kube Trump said Iran's nuclear sites were 'obliterated,' but questions remain about enriched uranium, by Keir Simmons As Iran comes under attack, its Arab neighbors are largely AWOL, by Matt Bradley Presidents ordering military action without Congress' approval has become routine. Here's why, by Gary Grumbach and Carol E. Lee 'Biden didn't start any wars': Democrats sharpen their arguments against Trump's foreign policy, by Peter Nicholas Follow live updates → Today NBC News launched a new evening podcast called 'Here's the Scoop.' In each daily episode, rotating hosts Yasmin Vossoughian, Morgan Chesky and Brian Cheung bring you a fresh take on the day's top stories in 15 minutes or less. Listen to the first episode here → ⚖️ SCOTUS watch: The Supreme Court made it easier for the Trump administration to deport convicted criminals to 'third countries' to which they have no previous connection. Read more → ⚖️ SCOTUS watch, cont.: The court also agreed to take up a religious claim by a Rastafarian whose dreadlocks were cut by prison officials in Louisiana. Read more → 📊 Survey says: As Senate Republican leaders hope to begin voting on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' this week, a raft of new polling shows the party is losing the battle of public opinion on the legislation. Read more → 🚫 More on the BBB: Senate Democrats forced the removal of a provision from the bill that sought to restrict the power of courts to block federal government policies with injunctions or restraining orders. Read more → 🪧 In his own words: Mahmoud Khalil, recently released from immigration custody, described the conditions of his detention and decried the 'hypocrisy' of Columbia University, where he was a graduate student. Read more → ☑️ If it's Tuesday: Democrats are set to choose a new ranking member tomorrow for the House Oversight Committee in a four-way internal election that has broken down along generational lines. Read more → 👀 This town ain't big enough: Rahm Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor and White House chief of staff, told NBC News that the prospect of taking on Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker in a 2028 presidential run 'is going to be awkward.' Read more → 🗳️ More options, more obstacles: A review of ballot records from over 150 elections shows that rejected ballots are more common in ranked-choice elections. Read more → That's all From the Politics Desk for now. Today's newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Dylan Ebs. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@ And if you're a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here. This article was originally published on
